XPN Artist to Watch Bartees Strange played a cozy NPR Tiny Desk (Home) Concert from his basement in Falls Church, Virginia. Joined by his band, the eclectic songwriter showcased four tunes from his 2020 debut album Live Forever.

Hip-hop, indie rock and electronic are among Bartees Strange’s wide-ranging influences — all pieces of “his 20-sided die,” according to NPR’s Lars Gotrich. But for the Tiny Desk, Bartees and band took the opportunity to get creative with some of the songs: “we went super deep on this — and made the songs hit completely different,” he writes on Twitter. During the 14-minute set Bartees also takes a moment to talk about what music has been getting him through the pandemic. Watch below.

NPR Music has been celebrating Black History Month by featuring four weeks of Tiny Desk (Home) Concerts by emerging and established Black artists of different genres. Find more on YouTube.

Setlist
“Boomer”
“Mustang”
“In A Cab”
“Flagey God”